What is an fiesta(festival)?
- A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and it's religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday. Festival dances are cultural dances performed to the strong beats of percussion instruments by a community of people sharing the same culture usually done in honor of a patron saint or as a Thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. Festival dances may be religious or secular in nature.
- The majority of festivals in the philippines, locally known as "fiestas", may have their own peryas (trade fairs with temporary amusement parks). The origin of most early fiestas are rooted in Christianity, dating back to the spanish colonial period when the many communities (such as barriors and towns) of the predominantly Catholic Philippines almost always had a patron saint assigned to each of them. Originally encouraged by the Spanish to coincide with Christian holy days, early patronal festivals became vital instruments in spreading Christianity throughout the country.
- Festivals in the Philippines can be religious, cultural, or both. Several of these are held to honor the local Roman Catholic patron saint, to commemorate local history and culture, to promote the community's products, or to celebrate a bountiful harvest. They can be marked by Holy Masses, processions, parades, theatrical play and reenactments, religious or cultural rituals, trade fairs, exhibits, concerts, pageants and various games. and contests. However, festivals in the country are not limited to Christian origins. Many festivals also focus on Islamic or indigenous concepts. There are more than 42,000 known major and minor festivals in the Philippines, the majority of which are in the barangay (village) level. Due to the thousands of town, city, provincial, national, and village fiestas in the country, the Philippines has traditionally has been known as the Capital of the World's Festivities.
